The Chill of Winter
by Larkspur
Summary: A shocking discovery leaves Ami questioning the foundations of family and floundering for security. This is the story of one girl's search to adjust and rebuild her life.


Here's a little note: Sailor Moon and all the characters within Sailor   
Moon are created by Naoko Takeuchi and are copyright their   
respective owners. I've only borrowed them briefly; I hope you enjoy   
what I've done with them.  
  
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The Chill of Winter   
  
The wind gave one final gust as Ami rounded the corner and made her   
way up to her house. It seemed like her legs had hurt every step of the   
way home, and the tensions of the day were beginning to build into a   
powerful headache. The relentless wind threatened to blow the door   
wide open when she let herself in the house – Her mother was working   
late, just like every other weekday. Exhausted, she dropped her books   
on the floor next to the door.  
'I just need to relax a little… Hot chocolate! That would do the trick nicely.'   
Ami was not usually fond of sweets, but on some days…  
As the water proceeded to boil, she let her mind turn over the   
events of the day…  
  
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Everything had seemed pretty normal that morning. It wasn't   
until mid morning that she remembered that her father, divorced from   
her mother for three years, and with whom she hadn't seen or spoken   
to for a year, was coming to visit that Saturday. It'd been a hard year   
for Ami, and Mr. Mizuno, although brilliant and artistically gifted,   
wasn't always the best father when it came to caring for his daughter.   
*'Out of sight, out of mind' sums him up*, Ami thought sorrowfully.   
Then, in third period, a white, unadorned envelope arrived on   
her desk. It had been delivered from the office, and a post-it note stuck   
on the front read:  
  
Ami –   
I just got this from Dad and I thought you'd want to   
read it as soon as I could, so I just dropped it off at school for you.   
Hope it's good news! I love you.  
Love, Mom  
  
Ami peeled off the sticky note and noticed that although the   
letter was from her dad, the return address wasn't complete. He was   
somewhat of a wanderer, and rarely stuck in one place long enough to   
get a real return address.   
*Oh, Lord, please let him say that he's settled down long enough to get a   
real address. Mom and I can't stand trying to hunt him down every month   
anymore.*  
Ami tore the envelope open, eager with anticipation. A small   
photograph of a woman fell out when she opened up the letter. Who   
was this? His new boss? Her eyes scanned the lines of the letter:  
Hi sweetie! I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've last   
written. I've been in Las Vegas for the last couple of weeks because   
I've gotten the opportunity to display a couple dozen of my paintings   
at an art exhibition here. There have been a few interested clients, but   
no big sales yet. I hope you're doing okay, too, with school and all   
that. Anyway, I have some real exciting news – while I've been   
displaying my work, I've met a delightful young woman named   
Danna O'Neil. I know it may seem fast to you, but I've gotten to   
know her very well over the past couple of weeks, and Ami, she's   
become my wife!   
Ami's heart stopped beating, and the world around her turned   
ice cold. Tears jumped into her eyes, but she just took a couple of   
deep breaths and continued reading through the watery blur.  
We were married only three days ago. The ceremony was not   
what I would've wanted it to be, because you weren't there. I'm sorry   
honey, but I'll stay in Vegas until the end of the week, when the   
exhibition ends, then Danna and I are leaving for a honeymoon in San   
Diego, California. She loves beaches, you know. I tried to convince   
her to fly to Tokyo with me for a few days before our honeymoon, but   
she says she's just not ready to meet you and your mother yet. I've   
enclosed a picture of Danna so that you won't be totally in the dark   
about her. I'm so sorry that I won't be able to see you this Saturday,   
because the next opportunity I have to come is three months from   
now. I'll try to give you a call before then – you'll be in my thoughts,   
too.  
My love always, Dad  
  
Openly crying now, Ami took a closer look at the picture of   
"Danna". She was okay looking – foofy brown hair and stylish   
glasses. Ami resisted the impulse to rip the photo into quarters, but   
instead stuck it in her purse. Ami excused herself from class before too   
many of her classmates realized she was crying. Grabbing about five   
kleenexes on her way to the bathroom, she ran down the hall, barely   
containing her sobs. 'Exciting news, he said. Can't he see that this is almost   
worse than the divorce itself? How could he be so heartless? Did he even think   
about Mom or me, and couldn't he have waited at least a couple of weeks, so   
that he could tell us in person? He was even too cowardly to make a phone   
call.' Nothing seemed to make sense. Not only was it unbearable that   
her father had already gotten married to a strange woman, but she had   
missed one of the most important events in her dad's life. 'That is, if   
their marriage even lasts,' she thought bitterly.   
Ami crouched silently in the bathroom for a few minutes,   
waiting for the tears to stop coming down her cheeks. She knew her   
teacher would probably be coming after her if she didn't come back   
soon. The tears did stop, however, as Ami realized she had to at least   
get through the day.   
Things went downhill from there. She couldn't concentrate,   
just as she couldn't stop thinking about what her dad had done.   
So finally she had some time to think about this would change   
things. 'Probably not much.' She still wouldn't see him for months on   
end, and she was still upset about this postponed visit. Ami   
shuddered. 'I just hope they don't have any children.'   
She had just fluffed up a pillow and laid down on the couch   
when the phone rang. Ami struggled to her feet and picked up the   
receiver. "Mizuno residence. May I ask who's calling?"  
"Hi Ami!" A smooth alto voice came out of the phone.  
"Oh, hi, Lita." A smile crept into Ami's lips.  
"Ami, are you free tonight?"  
"Yeah. My mom's not home, but I'm not doing anything."  
"Is it alright if I come over, then? Just for a little girl talk."  
"Of course. Come right on over."  
"See you in a couple minutes, then."  
Although "girl talk" was not exactly what she needed at the   
moment, any distraction would be a blessing. Ami put on some more   
water to boil for her guest.  
Only a few minutes later, Lita was standing in her doorway,   
cheeks flushed from the biting winter air. A tupperware container was   
held under one arm. "Hey! It's nice to see you, Lita. Let's get you in   
out of that cold," Ami greeted, ill concealing her agitation. "I've put   
on some cocoa for you, too."  
"That's great then, because it'll go perfectly with the ginger   
snaps I brought over!"  
"Aw, thanks, Lita. You always think of everything. They're   
just what I need." Ami set the container down on the countertop.  
"Oh, it was no problem at all, but I was just wondering if   
everything is okay with you, Ami. You were even quieter than normal   
in history – not your normal self. Really, is there any way I can help   
you?" Lita spoke tenderly.  
Ami avoided eye contact. "Um, actually there was something   
that happened." Darn her friend's perceptiveness! She finished   
making Lita's cocoa and sat down at the coffee table with her own   
cocoa and a ginger snap. "It's really not anything big, but my father   
has quickly remarried in Las Vegas." Ami felt the tears well up again.   
"He met this woman two weeks ago and now he's already married her   
without telling my mother or myself."  
"What are you talking about? That's very important! Ami,   
you're the mistress of understatement. I can't even imagine how hard   
it must be for you."  
"It *is* hard because I haven't seen him for over a year, and now   
suddenly…" Ami's voice trailed off and she stifled her sniffs with a   
kleenex.   
Lita put her arm around Ami. "I know it's hard to adjust," she   
comforted, "but you just have to realize that you don't have any   
control over his actions. You'll get to meet this woman sometime not   
too far from now, and who knows, you might even come to like her."  
"I really don't know if that'll ever happen. My dad usually isn't   
the best judge of character." Ami's tears clogged her throat.  
"Well, just remember that if you end up not liking her, you   
don't have to live with your dad, and that even if you find his wife   
disagreeable, he obviously loves her. You should try to be happy that   
he's found someone."  
"You're right. As long as he's happy, I should be happy." Ami   
paused. "But that's not the way it happens in real life," she whispered.   
"It'll take you a while, but you'll get used to it. You'll adjust –   
we all do, eventually. We have to, if we want to get on with our lives.   
Just remember that all of your friends are here for you, we always will   
be. That'll never change." Lita smiled compassionately and patted   
Ami on the back.   
"Thank you." Ami looked down at her crinkled kleenex and   
smiled faintly.  
"Have you told your mother yet?" Lita's eyes were filled with   
concern.  
"Not yet. She's getting home from work late today. She   
actually dropped off my dad's letter at school, but didn't open it. I   
don't want to tell her."  
"Well, if you just give her the letter instead of telling her   
yourself, that would make it easier."  
"Yes. Thank you so much, Lita. You've made this a lot easier   
for me."  
"Of course, Ami. I'm just so sorry that you've had to go   
through this."  
"I'll be okay. Really. It's getting late, though. I don't want   
you to walk home in the dark."  
"Alright, then. But have faith, Ami, you'll get through this."   
Lita smiled encouragingly and the two exchanged a brief hug before   
Lita headed out the amber sun filled doorway.   
Ami knew that telling her mother would not be the easiest   
thing to do, but they would get through this together, that she knew.   
And her dad would get a talking to the next time they met! Ami   
pulled out the slightly wrinkled photo of Danna and gazed at it. 'This is   
quite a turnaround,' she thought, because she was actually looking   
forward to meeting her new stepmother, the woman her father had   
loved enough to marry.  
  
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Hope you liked it! This is one of the first fanfictions I've written, so if   
you feel encouraging or just feel the need to give me feedback (positive   
or otherwise) please do so at larkspur@mail.com. Stay tuned for   
more!  
  
March 2002 


End file.
